


Gomer's Troubles

by allysonandrews1982 (FonzFan82)



Category: Andy Griffith Show
Genre: Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-14
Updated: 2013-12-14
Packaged: 2018-01-01 14:27:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1045025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FonzFan82/pseuds/allysonandrews1982
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gomer's cousin, Goober is shot while in a holdup. Gomer was suspected of the murder even if he didn't do it. Would Andy and Barney solve the case and clear Gomer's name? Find out!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gomer, the Suspect

**Author's Note:**

> It has been a long time since my last Andy Griffith fic but this is the latest. I hope you all enjoy it and it also can be found on fanfiction dot net. Thanks for reading!

Around nine in the morning, Goober Pyle, was on his way to start his day at the garage. His cousin, Gomer Pyle had been home from the Marines about five years or so now. He’d hoped he would find Gomer. He was wrong – Gomer was not around in sight. He thought he would get a head start on the cars that were waiting to be fixed.

About five or ten minutes later, Goober thought he heard Gomer pull in. Again, no sign of Gomer. He saw the car headed his way who were two men in the front seat. He didn’t give them a close look for description. He saw the driver and passenger sure didn’t look friendly. He wondered what they were doing here.

Once he fast – walked in the gas station, he headed straight to the telephone. He thought it made sense to call the sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina, Andy Taylor. Andy had been sheriff here in Mayberry for several years, along with his deputy, Barney Fife. Goober wasn’t able to tell the operator what was going on to put Andy through. It was a little bit too late.

Goober thought he heard a gunshot. That’s when Gomer drove up. Goober saw the look on his cousin’s face – fear. Gomer got out of the car just in time before the driver pulled his gun out and pull the trigger. The passenger saw Gomer had a really frightened look. Goober turned around, seeing the driver and his passenger, a few feet behind him. Of course, they didn’t know Goober or who he was. The driver and passenger looked like they could be related or just friends, but he couldn’t be positive.

The driver, the one with the gun, didn’t bother using the old line, “Put your hands up!” He thought it made snese to surprise Goober without saying the old line. Gomer was watching with his frightened look. Worried with Goober when he thought he heard a gun fire after returning from calling Andy and Barney.

Gomer had this feeling these crooks wanted money from him and Goober but the passenger and driver decided not to ask but they did decide that they didn’t think Goober and Gomer had enough money to give them. When he reached the sheriff’s office, Barney was out, so Sheriff Andy Taylor picked up.

“Sheriff’s office,” he said professionaly.

“Hi, Andy.”

“Gomer? What are you doing by calling me?” Andy asked.

“Andy, you wouldn’t believe what happened just now,” Gomer said.

Andy could tell by the tone of Gomer’s vouce, he sounded a bit shocked.

“You sound like you’re scared, Gomer. Now tell me what happened.”

“It’s kind of hard to explain, Andy. Maybe it’ll be easier to tell in person.”

“All right, Gomer.”

Gomer put the phone back in the cradle. 

Once he came back out, the driver and passenger were already gone. He saw Goober lying on the ground, covered with blood. Barney came back shortly.

“Hi, Barney,” Andy greeted the deputy.

“Hi, Andy,” Barney said opening the sheriff office door and he walked in.

“Barney, we need to go to the filling station now. Gomer just called and reported a holdup. We have to go and find out what happened,” Andy told him.

“Ange, I just got here.”

Andy looked right at Barney, telling him silently he should tag along.

“Don’t tell me, Andy. I’m coming,” Barney said as Andy nodded.

“All right. This better be important,” Barney told Andy.

He and Andy took the sheriff’s car.

“Okay. This doesn’t sound good when you mentioned ‘holdup,’” Barney remarked.

“I know.”

The three looked on the ground – lying there was once the body of Goober Pyle!


	2. The Town Talk

Gomer was out of the hospital from all this shocking news he saw about Cousin Goober. The doctor told him to take it easy for awhile. Gomer was still in shock about all the events that happened yesterday. He would need a lot of time to heal from Goober’s death. One thing he did know: he didn’t get a chance to say good – bye!

Barney was asked from Andy to pick up Gomer at the hospital since he had to be in Mount Pilot for jury duty that day. Barney had acted as sheriff a few times, so he knew the drill. Barney waited to pick up Gomer a while after Andy had left for Mount Pilot.

“You take it easy now, Gomer. Andy and I will try to look into this whole thing,” Barney reassured him.

“Barney, he died too soon so I never had the chance to say good – bye,” Gomer said sadly.

“We understand, Gomer,” Barney said as he took a couple turns to Gomer’s place. The recent turn Barney did was a left. Gomer lived alone, but Gomer had an apartment. All Barney did was stay in the squad car while he watched Gomer walk in and closed the door.

Once Barney drove away from the apartment, he drove back to the sheriff’s office. Before Barney could walk inside, several Mayberry residents walked up to him.

“Barney, is this true Gomer was in the hospital? Did Goober really die?” they had asked several questions all at once and Barney couldn’t answer everything all at once.

“We’re not really sure if Goober died, but we do know he was shot. Andy and I will look into this investigation after Andy returns from Mount Pilot. We are not one hundred percent sure if Goober was murdered or not yet. You all will find out soon enough.”

Another resident asked, “Why would this happen to Mayberry?”

“That’s what Sheriff Taylor and I will have to look in,” Barney said.

That’s when he finally walked into the sheriff’s office with the crowd still talking about Gomer and Goober.

That night at home, Aunt Bee and Opie began asking questions on the murder.

“We still don’t know much of anything yet, Aunt Bee, Op. We’ll have to help Gomer prove he didn’t do it.”

“Do you believe Gomer, Andy?” Aunt Bee asked.

“Of course I do. I know he would never do such thing to a relative.”

“Pa’s right, Aunt Bee.”

“Of course we all know Goober and Gomer are innocent,” Aunt Bee said.

“Right, Aunt Bee. We’ll just have to see what happens when Barney and I start working on it.”


	3. Barney Gets Carried Away

The next morning, Barney met Andy at the courthouse around eight o’clock. Andy was there with Gomer. Gomer had been behind bars since the day before. Gomer kept thinking he was right he was not guilty of committing a crime of Goober. Andy really did believe him. Gomer always knew Andy would believe him from the start but he knew for sure Barney was different. Sometimes Barney could get carried away.

“All right, Gomer. Spit it out. Tell me and Andy you were the one who had this thing all set up,” Barney said.

“All I know is when I got to the filling station, the crooks were already there. Goober had this look on his face telling you how frightened he was. I didn’t blame him one bit. When I showed up, the crooks had their gun out at Cousin Goober. I didn’t know what to do so all I could think of was to call you and now I’m here at the courthouse.”

Barney walked back to Andy. 

“You know what, Ange? I think there’s more to this than meets the eye,” Barney whispered.

“Maybe so, Barn, but I do believe Gomer is innocent.

“Innocent nothing. I’ll keep working on him, Ange.”

Gomer was overhearing the hushed conversation. He knew Barney was going to get carried away sooner or later. He hoped Barney would think of him as innocent once they got deeper in the case more. Gomer had a feeling he was telling the truth all along.

After hearing the hushed conversation, Gomer decided he’d speak up once again. Gomer cleared his throat to break the silence.

“Yes, Gomer?” Barney asked.

Just before Gomer could tell them anything else, the courthouse door opened. Gomer didn’t recognize who the person was. He thought more of the event that happened with him and Goober at the garage while Andy talked with the man that walked in.

The man was tall, gray – haired, fifty – ish, wore blue jeans, a baseball cap (he guessed it was a baseball team from another state but couldn’t be certain), white socks and black shoes, glasses, and a business shirt. Gomer didn’t know what the man did for a living but he could tell it was businesslike.

“May I help you with anything?” Andy asked.

“I came by to send you this,” the man said.

“And your name is?” Barney asked.

He pulled a black wallet out of his pants pocket. He opened the wallet and handed Barney a piece of paper.

“I am Richard Saunders. I came all the way here from Mount Pilot. I was told to give you this,” Mr. Saunders said.

“A note? Thank you, Mr. Saunders. We appreciate it. I’ll give the sheriff a call in a few minutes and see what he wants done.”

Richard thanked Andy and said good day to Andy and Barney once he slammed the door behind him.

“I’ve never seen that guy before, Ange.”

“Neither have I, Barney. I’ll call the sheriff in Mount Pilot later. First, I want to hear more about yesterday.”

“Andy, I didn’t do it. I’ve told you and Barney all I know. When I was making the call to you, I heard a gunshot and after getting off with you, I was just in time to see this happen. I would never make a commit murder on my own cousin.”

“Of course you won’t, Gomer. You’re family, so that’s personal from those crooks that came by yesterday.”

“I know, Andy, but that’s something they don’t know about me and Goober. I don’t know why they would want to kill Goober if they didn’t know who he was.”

“You’re right, Gomer.”

Gomer watched as Barney put on his light brown police cap on his head. Of course, the uniform matched the cap.

“Where are you going, Barney?” 

“Patrol.”

“I thought we were going to talk with Gomer about yesterday.”

“You talk with him and see what you can find out,” Barney said, grabbing the key chain they kept for the squad car and slammed the door.

“So much for that, Gomer.”

“I know. I have no idea why I have to be here behind bars if I did nothing wrong.”

“Like it says, Gomer, guilty proven innocent.”

“I understand, Andy, but still it doesn’t make sense to me if I have to be here and the crooks are on the loose.”

“I believe you, Gomer. For now we want you to stay out of the filling station while this case is in progress. You understand?”

“Yes, Andy.”

Gomer was not sure how long he would be out of work but he knew it would be for a while but he would see what Barney and Andy thought of telling him.

Barney came back shortly. He walked in, taking the cap off and hanging it on the rack. 

“That was fast,” Gomer said.

“Who told you to speak?” Barney asked.

“Nobody.”

“You only speak when somebody tells you to,” Barney said strictly to him.

Andy didn’t like what was going on with Barney today.

“Barney, we don’t tell our Mayberry citizens when they can and can’t speak.”

“When it’s a crime like this, Ange, we will.”

Andy still didn’t comment so he stayed quiet.

“Barney, this is a free country. We’re able to do what we can,” Gomer told him.

“It may be a free country, but with a murder case like this, that’s different,” Barney returned.

“You will soon find out I’ve been telling the truth all along, Barney, then you’ll prove yourself sorry.”

Andy didn’t want to get into this arguement.

“Barney, stop. You’re getting carried away,” Andy told him.

“I don’t care. Gomer can stay here at the courthouse until we find out who murdered Goober,” Barney said.

Gomer didn’t say anything.


	4. The Mount Pilot Visit

“Did you ever get a close look at the crooks looked like?” Andy asked.

“Not really. I got to the filling station, and when I got there, two guys were holding a gun. I didn’t get a close look what the gun looked like, either. It happened too fast.”

Andy stepped up from his desk chair.

“Barney, will you stay here? I’m going to Mount Pilot for a while. I want to see what’s going on,” Andy said, grabbing the car’s keychain. 

“Will do, Ange.”

“There ain’t no telling when I’ll be back.”

Both Barney and Gomer watched Andy slam the door.

“Now Andy’s got the squad car, I couldn’t do patrol. I guess that can wait later,” Barney said aloud.

Gomer didn’t reply. It didn’t take Andy ver long to arrive in Mount Pilot. Once he drove up, the town was bigger than Mayberry itself, he knew. He’d been to Mount Pilot several times to know the place was big. Today, like Mayberry, Mount Pilot was warm in the mid – fifties to early sixties, sun shining and a bit of wind.

When Andy parked the squad car, he saw the sheriff’s office parking lot wasn’t full today since the last time he was up here. The sheriff department here in Mount Pilot sure was bigger than Mayberry. The office was big enough for a secretary, jail cells, restrooms, coat hangers, guns, etc. Sheriff Waters was a medium – sized man, normal weight, middle – aged, light red hair, glasses for reading, let alone his uniform.

Sheriff Waters looked in Andy’s direction and silently invited him to sit down.

“Hi, Andy,” he said once Andy shut the door behind him.

He’d just got off from a telephone call. Andy looked around the office: the only thing that changed was the bookshelf. It wasn’t there the last tme he showed up.

He watched as Sheriff Waters grabbed a Number 2 pencil from the cupholder and put it in the pencil sharpener. The pencil sharpener looked like it was on its last legs. He also noticed some of the room changed a bit but not by much. The bookshelf held four shelves and all of them had law books.

He watched as Sheriff Waters opened a desk drawer. He looked like he was looking for some paper. The office was big enough to hold three people.

“What is it you wanted to see me for, Jim?” Andy asked, breaking the silence.

“That. I heard there was a murder in Mayberry the other day. We didn’t get enough information on the crime. Do you know the name of the victim?” he asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do know. It is a relative of a citizen here in Mayberry. His name was Goober Pyle.”

Sheriff Waters brust out laughing after hearing Goober’s name.

“Goober? That’s the funniest name I’ve ever heard,” Sheriff Waters said giggly. 

“I don’t find that very funny, Jim.”

Sheriff Waters choked as he tried to to stop laughing. When he didn’t stop, he started to hiccup.

“Has anyone in Mayberry seen qho shot your native?” Sheriff Waters asked with more hiccups.

“Do you want me to get you anything?” Andy asked.

“Maybe a glass of water would be great,” Waters said.

Andy got out of his chair. Sure enough, the jug of water wasn’t very far from the office. Andy grabbed a paper cup out and poured a whole glass full. After he finished, he walked back in Waters’ office. When Andy gave him the glass, the hiccups started to get louder and out of control.

Waters thanked Andy as he took the white paper cup out of Andy’s hand. After gulping half of the cup, Waters put the glass on the desk. Like the pencil sharpener itself, the desk looked to ready t go to the dump sooner or later.

“We just found out about the crime just now, Jim, but we only have one witness who actually saw this.”

“Is this so – called witness from Mayberry or just a tourist?”

“Citizen. He’s actually family to the victim.”

“Interesting. Did your citizen pay close enough attention to what the crooks looked like?” Waters asked as he took his glasses off to clean the lens.

“He said he didn’t since the victim was killed almost immediately.”

Waters did not reply.

“Since this happened just the day before, nobody has seen the crooks. We sure would like to see for oursevles who the crooks were. The witness and victim were involved in a holdup. That’s all I know for now.”

“Holdups aren’t easy, that’s for sure. I’ve stopped several of them. Mount Pilot hasn’t had any holdups since the past year or so.”

Waters now put his glasses on. That’s when Andy and Sheriff Waters looked out of the now dirty window. The wind had stopped while the sun went down and the sky turned dark. The two men jumped from their seats when they saw a clap of thunder.

“Looks like it’s starting to rain, Andy. If I were you, I’d plan to head back home. Do you want us to help you with this case?” Sheriff Waters asked as he got up to walk Andy out of the door.

“I would give it a shot, Jim. If you spot something, be sure to call me.”

“Will do, Andy. Maybe you could ask the witness a bit more about what happened during this holdup you mentioned.”

“Barney and I already have asked a couple of questions already, but we plan to keep trying.”

“Good luck to you too, Andy.”

“Thanks, Jim. I’ll hear from you,” Andy said as he slammed the door behind himself.


	5. Gomer's Thought

While Andy was out, the sheriff’s phone began to ring.

“Sheriff’s office,” Barney said professionally.

“He ain’t here now. He went out to Mount Pilot but I think he should be here shortly,” Barney reassured the caller.

Gomer was listening to the conversation, but he didn’t quite catch the caller’s name but whoever it was, the name probably wouldn’t make any sense or meaning to him.

While Barney left to do patrol after taking the message, Gomer got to thinking on why Barney suspected him as the primary suspect of his cousin, Goober.

Gomer tried to look back the last time he and Goober got together. He knew it was almost two weeks ago or something but he really didn’t get a chance to say good – bye. Gomer fell asleep quickly. This was a dream so he hoped it wouldn’t be true when he woke up.

He was closing up for the weekend when he found his car looking like it wasn’t itself. Of course it wasn’t Cousin Goober, but Goober had left home about fifteen minutes ago. He didn’t hear anybody arrive to have his car dented with the fender bender. He wondered why this made no noise when he was actually in the back room? That made no sense at all. He wondered if it was somebody he and Goober knew since Mayberry itself was known as a friendly town.

As always, Gomer had been the innocent one even if he didn’t do anything wrong or get involved. Barney was on the scene once he called in about his car. Barney somehow did not bring a bullet with him like he usually did, but this time he only brought along the pistol. The pistol looked like it was already loaded but Barney was always the goofy one who would waste his only bullet away after one shot and Andy had to take it away from him.

It made Gomer thinking: Who would do such a thing to my car? Who would want me to have dents on the fender bender when I wasn’t around to witness this? This makes no sense at all. This time Barney arrived without Andy.

“Gomer, we got a call at the sheriff’s office about some shooting.”

“Barney, I swear I didn’t hear a thing. I was not aware of anything so I couldn’t answer any of your questions. Sorry.”

“You will have to tell me what you do and what you don’t know. I’d like to hear your story. I’d like Andy to hear it too,” Barney said once he handcuffed Gomer.

Gomer did nothing wrong to have him handcuffed by Barney. He still didn’t get to what Barney was gettng to but he’d find out. Once he and Barney arrived at the sheriff’s office, Barney put the pistol on Andy’s desk and opened the jail cell to lock him up. True, the sheriff’s office in Mayberry had not changed. It had only two cells and that was it. People who would stop in to visit they would always say this office was not a real jail. That’s what it was like in today’s time since a small town sheriff really didn’t need a fancy jail like the cities did.

After Barney took the handcuffs off him, he sat down on the bed in his cell. The bed was not comfortable, but he stayed on the bed. He watched as Barney put the handcuffs away and the key back in its proper place. True, prisoners who stayed here were allowed to lock themselves in and out. Gomer had never done such a thing so he let Barney and Andy do it.

“Okay, Gomer. Tell me what you know about what happened,” Barney told him once Andy arrived two mintues later.

“What are you doing with Gomer in the cell, Barney? Did Gomer do anything wrong to be locked in the cell?” Andy asked.

“Well, Andy, it went like this. We got a call not too long ago and someone reported something from the garage. I went over there and found Gomer by his car. I think he knows something he’s not telling us.”

“Come on, Barney. That’s crazy.”

Andy opened the cell and let Gomer go.

“Thanks, Andy,” Gomer said thankfully.

“You’re welcome, Gomer. Barney, please go on. I want to know exactly why you locked Gomer up.”

“Andy, the caller reported a shooting at the filling station. I found him outside by his own car.”

“And what else happened?” Andy asked.

“Then Barney comes along and handcuffs me, Andy. I did nothing wrong to be here in the jail’s cell. I was ready to close up shop for the day and I found my car dented with the fender bender. I heard no gunshot.”

That’s when Gomer got to thinking: Could the driver and passenger be the ones who dented his fender bender? Why didn’t he notice the car had dents when Goober was shot? He’d have to check the car out once he was able to be set free. He thought he’d mention this to Andy and Barney.

Andy returned from Mount Pilot about five minutes later. Andy walked in the sheriff’s office, seeing the jail was still the same when he first left. 

“Andy, I’ve been thinking,” Gomer spoke up once Andy sat at his desk.

“Yes, Gomer?” he asked, giving Gomer eye contact.

“I have thought that when Goober and I were involved with that holdup, I did not notice my car was in a mess. I thought I’d take a look at it.”

“What do you mean it was a mess?” Andy asked with interest.

“I somehow got to thinking my car was involved after the holdup the day before Goober’s murder. It was when Goober left to go home for the day and I did not hear anyone shooting my car with dents on the fender bender.”

“It’ll be something to check out. Thanks for the tip,” Andy said.

“You’re welcome, Andy.”


	6. Gomer's First Christmas Without Goober

The town of Mayberry had found this surprising that this year was flying by quickly. Andy decided to let Gomer out of the cell since it was the holidays. Barney tried talking him into having Gomer stay in the cell over the holiday.

“Barney, it doesn’t sound right for Gomer to be here alone on Christmas and you know we always close up for the holiday anyway,” Andy pointed out.

“Have it your way, Ange. If I were sheriff, I’d keep him there until the case is shut down,” Barney said.

“I know how you think, Barney, but you’re not sheriff.”

“I know.”

“You can come and celebrate with us, Gomer. You know Aunt Bee has plenty of leftovers for friends and family,” Andy said.

“Thanks, Andy, I’d be a lot happier if Goober was here to help celebrate. When we were growing up, the holidays were never dull when Goober was around. I guess it’s changed now since he’s dead,” Gomer said, gulping to make sure he wasn’t choking.

He did not have tears in his eyes but something told him to hold back tears. This was his first Christmas without Cousin Goober and now he was already feeling lonely. He wanted Goober to be around this year but he would take it hard a bit since he didn’t have his cousin with him. 

It was Christmas Eve. Andy and Barney decided to close early enough to they could start celebrating Christmas with their friends and family. 

“I told Aunt Bee you’d be joining us,” Andy said.

“Okay,” Gomer replied.

“Andy, what about Barney? He wants me here for the holidays and not with my friends,” Gomer said.

Barney wasn’t anywhere in the sheriff’s office to hear him say that.

“Don’t worry, Gomer. Just try to ignore Barney until Christmas is over. I know he’s my best friend, but I don’t want him to stop you from celebrating the holiday with us,” Andy told him.

“I understand. I deserve time with my friends rather than being here in the cell all alone. Is Otis able to make it?”

“No. He’s celebrating it with his friends so we’ll be expecting him when Christmas is over.”

“Oh.”

The two walked out of the sheriff’s office and Andy opened the squad car’s door so Gomer could get in.

“We know it’s a bit slippery to walk home, so we’re taking the car instead.”

“All right, Andy. That does make sense,” Gomer agreed.

They made it to Andy’s in a few minutes. Barney had not yet arrived but Barney wanted to get out of his uniform and put something dressier on. He told Aunt Bee he would bring Thelma Lou with him and she didn’t seem to mind.

Andy parked the squad car in the driveway and both he and Gomer walked out with Andy locking the squad car door and taking the keys with him.

Once Andy opened the door, Gomer walked in first and saw Aunt Bee and Opie there. He sighed quietly, thankful Barney hadn’t shown up yet. He knew what Barney would think if he saw him there so he didn’t bother mentioning it out loud.

“Hello, Gomer,” Aunt Bee and Opie said at the same time.

“Hi, Aunt Bee, Opie,” Gomer returned.

A few minutes later, the doorbell sounded. Andy was closest to the door, since he and Gomer didn’t quite yet leave their standing posts. Today Thelma Lou looked pretty. She was wearing a pair of Santa earrings, along with a shirt and socks to match it. She did nothing special with her hair, so it stayed the same. 

“Don’t you look lovely tonight, Thelma Lou,” Andy complimented her.

“Thank you, Andy. Barney suggested I wear this to match the earrings,” Thelma Lou said once she and Barney were in the house.

Gomer saw Barney giving him a look that silently told him why he was here but Gomer didn’t bother saying anything aloud so he kept it to himself. Aunt Bee noticed the sad look on Gomer’s face.

“Is anything wrong, Gomer?” Aunt Bee asked.

“You shouldn’t look sad, Gomer. It’s Christmas and you should be happy,” Opie told him.

“I can’t help feeling sad, Opie. It’s just not the same without Goober around.”

“We understand, Gomer. I’m sure Goober wouldn’t want you to be sad,” Thelma Lou said.

“I understand that, Thelma Lou. Still it isn’t the same without Cousin Goober.”

He sounded like he was going to break down into tears. He asked to be excused for a while.

“Sure, Gomer,” Andy said.

They watched as Gomer walked upstairs. He walked to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

“Pa, he shouldn’t be alone on a special time of year like this,” Opie replied.

“I know, Op, but when somebody dies, it takes time to recover from that person’s death and Goober was family to Gomer so it would take him a while to heal,” Andy said.

“Ange, can I talk to you for a second or two in private?” Barney spoke up.

“What is it?” Andy asked as the two best friends walked into the kitchen.

Aunt Bee, Opie, and Thelma were curious enough to find out what Andy and Barney were talking about, but it was none of their business to butt in.

“Ange, I thought we were leaving Gomer at the office,” Barney said loud enough for the other three to overhear.

“Barney, Gomer deserves some time away from the cell. Just let him be with his friends since we know Christmas is a special time of year.”

“Whatever,” Barney said, rolling his eyes.

No wonder Gomer was upstairs, Barney thought to himself as he and Andy returned to the living room. Today the living room was filled with Christmas decorations, a fire burning, Christmas tree and house lights on, etc. Gomer heard his friends talking downstairs through the bathroom door. He didn’t feel like joining them right away, but he wanted to be alone for a while longer. He said a silent prayer about Goober. From today on, Christmas would be dull since Goober wasn’t around anymore but still it wasn’t that much fun with just Andy, Barney, Thelma Lou, and Opie.

“I’m going to check on Gomer,” Andy spoke up.

“While you’re doing that, Thelma Lou and I will bring the turkey out,” Aunt Bee replied.

“Good idea,” Barney agreed.

While everyone left, Barney went to the record player to turn on a Christmas record for them to listen to.

“Why not watch television instead, Barney?” Opie suggested as he watched Barney flip a side of a record album.

“Nah. Music needs to fill up the house for now,” he told the sixteen – year – old redhead as Silent Night started playing.

“Okay.”

As he walked up the stairs, Andy heard Aunt Bee and Thelma Lou laughing with spirit as they got things ready. Now the time read 4:30 in the afternoon. Around the holidays such as Christmas and New Year’s, they would usually eat at 4:30. Aunt Bee had made a turkey that was about twenty pounds, so it was big enough for everyone to enjoy.

Andy knocked on the bathroom door. He heard Gomer silently open it.

“It’s only you. At first I thought it was Barney,” Gomer said.

That’s when Gomer heard the record player fill the house with ‘Ave Maria.’ Not too long ago it was ‘Silent Night.’ Gomer loved listening to Christmas songs such as those two. He didn’t have a favorite, so it would be hard for him to pick a certain one.

“Come on out, Gomer. Whatever Barney says, just ignore him.”

“Okay, Andy, but it wouldn’t be easy.”

Gomer followed Andy back downstairs. Barney gave Gomer a look. Even Opie noticed the look on Barney’s face. After the group finished eating turkey and pumpkin pie, they sang Christmas carols without the record player. Andy did his guitar thing, so they enjoyed his guitar playing so they always liked hearing it anytime besides the holidays. After they all finished ‘The Christmas Song,’ everyone separated since it was nearing midnight. Gomer left early to hit the sack. He said good – night to everyone who was there. He heard the song finish in a few minutes after he headed for the guest room that was all set for him. After Thelma Lou and Barney left, Gomer heard the other three downstairs getting ready to bed as well. That’s when everyone fell asleep.


	7. Gomer's Clue

The next morning, Gomer woke up to Aunt Bee’s cooking. He smelled pancakes, omellets, fruits, vegetables, and orange juice and coffee. Gomer was to stay here at the house until the murder of Cousin Goober was solved. Andy thought it made sense for Gomer not to be in the jail cell while the murder was in progress to be solved. Aunt Bee said she would love to have company while she was by herself.

He was in the kitchen five minutes after Andy walked in.

“Morning, Andy,” Gomer greeted him.

“Morning, Gomer. I talked Barney into letting you stay here so you wouldn’t look like you were guilty if people came in the courthouse and find a mechanic behind bars if they went looking for you.”

“You know I did no such thing. Goober was family.”

“I understand. Barney and I will see what to do to close this thing up.”

“Thanks, Andy.”

Opie had left not too long ago since he had school.

“Did Op leave for school?” Andy asked.

“Yes, Andy. He just left about five minutes ago. He said he had a science test this morning and he didn’t want to be late for it.”

After Andy and Gomer cleared their plates, Andy got up and left the house to the sheriff’s office. He found Barney already there.

“Morning, Ange,” Barney said when he looked in the direction of the courthouse doors when Andy sat down at the desk.

“Morning. Barney, don’t get me anymore ideas that Gomer did this to Goober. I do believe Gomer about him for telling the truth. I do think he is telling it and not lying.”

“Whatever you think, Andy, I still think he’s not giving out enough info on what happened when he showed up at the filling station.”

“You do what you want, Barney, but I talked with Sheriff Waters when I was in Mount Pilot and he said he would call here once they find something on Goober’s case.”

Gomer knew he wasn’t supposed to be working at the garage, but he didn’t want to stay at the house with Aunt Bee and not finding out about his hunch about the fender bender. 

“Aunt Bee, you know Andy said for me to stay here while they were working on Goober’s case. I want to go to the filling station to check something out.”

“You’ll have to ask Andy about that, Gomer. That’s not for me to answer that.”

“I understand, Aunt Bee.”

Later that afternoon, Aunt Bee had to go grocery shopping. While she did that, Gomer thought this might give him a chance to sneak out and check out to see if he was right about the fender bender. Like all murder cases, the filling station had yellow tape to tell people not to step into it since it was a crime.

Gomer never bothered going anywhere to where Andy and Barney had the yellow tape. He was smart enough not to walk over it. Two minutes after Aunt Bee left, Gomer decided to sneak out the kitchen door since she used the front door.

As he paced through the door, he fast – walked to the garage. As usual, it turned out his car was still there. He didn’t know if Andy and Barney looked at the car or not while the garage was out of business for time being, but he’d have to ask Andy that when he came home tonight, but he decided to keep his visit to garage this afternoon to himself until then. Of course, Andy wouldn’t be happy when he told him he did something he wasn’t supposed to do. Andy was one of those people who would lose their temper quickly.

Gomer hoped once he told Andy about what he did today that Andy would not blow up his top. Gomer decided to keep his fingers crossed until he had the right time to chat with Andy about his hunch. Carefully not stepping on the yellow crime scene tape, Gomer opened the hood. He wasn’t sure what he would find.

Sure enough, he was right – he had a few dents on his car. He wasn’t happy about that since the fender bender showed a few dents and the driver’s side of the car looked like it was dented pretty well. Gomer sighed, thinking he was right that he found something to Goober’s case. He still wasn’t sure if Andy and Barney found this information yet or not but he’d wait and see what Andy would say once he broke the news.

When Andy came home at the usual time, Gomer waited after supper was over to break the news. Before Andy and Opie entered the kitchen, he asked Aunt Bee if she noticed he was gone earlier that day.

“I thought I did, Gomer, but it made me think you went to hang out with friends.”

Gomer made no comment. He didn’t want to lie to a friend’s aunt, so he stayed quiet.

Opie came into the kitchen and found Aunt Bee and Gomer putting the silverware on the kitchen table.

“How did your test go this morning, Opie?” Gomer asked.

“Fine, I guess. I’m not sure if I passed or not.”

Andy came in just as Gomer, Aunt Bee, and Opie sat at the kitchen table.

“Just on time, Andy,” Aunt Bee said.

“Andy, could you and I talk privately after supper? It’s about Goober’s death,” Gomer said.

“All right, Gomer. I thought you weren’t supposed to be anywhere near the murder scene.”

“I know I’m not supposed to, Andy, but I think I found something you and Barney might have missed.”

“We will talk after supper.”

“Thanks,” Gomer said.

Supper was over in about fifteen minutes. Opie styaed in the kitchen to help Aunt Bee with the dishes. Andy and Gomer walked into the living roon. 

“What is it you want to tell me about?” Andy asked.

“Well, Andy, I went to the garage this morning when Aunt Bee went to do some shopping. I checked my car. It turned out I was right when I mentioned the fender bender.”

“And?”

“I think I might have found something you and Barney could missed.”

“Tell me.”

“Well, I checked my car. I was right that the car had dents. More than five, I can tell you that. I thought I saw something on the car but I’m not exactly one hundred percent sure.”

“What did you think you saw?”

“I thought I saw some blood on the car.”

Andy wasn’t surprised. Barney might be right, but they will just have to wait and see.

“I’ll mention this to Barney in the morning. Where did you say the spot was?”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t get a close enough of a look."


	8. Case Closed

Later the next morning, Andy and Barney were in the courthouse. Andy told Barney what Gomer told him the night before.

“Gomer’s dumb enough to cross the yellow tape, Ange. We should arrest him again,” Barney said.

“Barney,” Andy said.

“Ange, we’ve got to arrest him if he did something wrong.”

“He did nothing wrong, Barney. I know he meant well by not going near the crime scene, but I think he wanted to help us on this case.”

“And-“

“He said he might have found something you and I missed.”

“Such as?”

“He told me he saw several dents on his car. I am not sure if you will be right or not, but we’ll have to go there ourselves and check the car out.”

“Okay. At least we can walk over the crime scene since we’re cops.”

Andy said nothing more.

The two police officers arrived at the gas station a few minutes later in silence. Neither of them had much to say.

“Show me what he found the other day,” Barney said.

“Barney, I wasn’t even around when Gomer was here.”

Barney thought to himself: ‘We’ll just wait about that.’

“Barney, wait here. I want to get in touch with Sheriff Waters from Mount Pilot.”

Andy left Barney alone for a while. While waiting for Andy, Barney bent down to Gomer’s car to see for himself what Andy was told the other night. Barney got on both hands and knees to get a closer look. He could tell Gomer was right – there were several dents. Then Barney spotted something red. He didn’t know for sure if it was paint or blood, so he put his pinky finger on the red spot. He felt it – blood. Barney could not believe this. He’d show this to Andy when he came out from the telephone call.

While on the phone, Andy asked Sheriff Waters if he found anything.

“I’m sorry, Andy, but I’ll keep looking. Did you find anything?” Sheriff Waters asked.

“I’m not sure, but Barney and I are at the crime scene now. We’re just checking out the evidence but we’re not sure what is going on at this time.”

“I will call when I find something.”

“Thank you, Jim.”

Andy came back to where he left Barney. He found Barney bending down on both knees by the car.

“What are you doing?” 

Barney looked up to see his friend standing there.

“Hi, Ange. I think I found something. Come here,” Barney said, waving a finger for Andy to bend down.

“What did you see?” Andy asked, bending down on both knees.

“See that red spot?” 

“What about it?” Andy asked, squinting his eyes for a closer look.

“I touched it. It’s blood all right.”

“Nice going, Barney.”

“It was no big deal.”

Barney thought of something.

“I just thought of something, Andy.”

“What?”

“While Goober and Gomer were involved in the holdup, would you think after Gomer left to call us, the crooks shot at Goober and the blood that was covered on Goober put the bloodstains on Gomer’s car to make it look like Gomer was the one?” 

“Good thinking, Barney. I don’t know what to think, but we can still look into it.”

Barney didn’t say anything else.

While getting ready to stand up, both officers found a penny by the car.

“Do you think this penny could be a clue too?” Barney asked.

“I’m not sure, but it’s a thought.”

“How about this for thinking: Goober and Gomer are involved in the holdup, Gomer calls us, the crooks shoot Goober and put the bloodstains on Gomer’s car and made the dents, dropped a penny and drove away as fast as they could without us coming to arrest them?”

“I think you might be on to something, Barney.”

“My guess is that the crooks are still here in Mayberry this very minute.”

“Well, I’m going back to the courthouse to take care of a few things. You can stay here if you want to,” Andy said, taking the car keys out of his pocket.

“I guess I’ll stay here and try to work more on my thought.”

“Good idea. I’ll see you later,” Andy said as he got into the driver’s seat and drove off.

“Let’s see. Gomer comes in to work, finds the crooks after parking the car, and called me and Andy, and the next minute – bang! When Gomer comes out again, he finds Goober’s dead body and the crooks have put the bloodstain on his car and missed the penny on the ground. No wonder I thought Gomer was playing dumb to start a crime. Maybe this holdup murder could have something to do with money?” Barney asked himself.

He wasn’t sure, but it was worth a shot. Barney saw a car drive by. Barney ran as fast as he could to the speeding car.

“Hold it right there!” he said to the two men in the car.

‘Could these two be the murderers? Barney thought silently to himself.

“Yes, Officer?” the man asked.

The man was wearing a business suit, tie, glasses, matching pants of the suit. The suit was a light brown and the tie was white with black stripes. 

“Get out of the car. I want to check something,” Barney said to the man and his passenger.

Of course, he and Andy didn’t get any details on the crooks since Gomer didn’t describe the two men who were at the holdup. So both men unbuckled their seats and stepped out of the car as Barney had directed them to.

Barney opened the glove compartment. He saw a gun, all right.

“Does this belong to either of you?” Barney asked, slamming the glove compartment loudly, gun in hand.

“Yes, it does, Officer. What are you getting at?” the driver asked.

“May I see your license?” Barney asked, not answering the driver.

So he pulled out a worn – out wallet that held cash, credit cards, etc. Barney grabbed the wallet from the man’s hand roughly. Barney looked at the driver’s license. 

“Mr. Davidson, you and your pal here are under arrest for a murder charge.”

“What!” the two men said in surprise.

“Officer, we aren’t even residents here in North Carolina. Why would we press a murder charge on a crime we didn’t committ?” the passenger asked.

The passenger, graying hair, early fifties, freshly new white shoes, white socks, a pair of glasses, an old pair of jeans, along with the belt, and also a new shirt that was size large that was a dark yellow and lime green.

“May I see your license, sir?” Barney asked the other man.

So he did as Barney instructed. He handed his wallet out. Barney roughly took it out of his hand and opened the wallet to see what the name read.

“Mr. James, you and your pal here are under arrest. You’re coming with me while I make a phone call to the sheriff,” Barney said, grabbing his handcuffs and put them on Davidson and James. Neither man spoke a word as Barney got to the nearest telephone and called Andy at the courthouse.

“Hi, Andy. Me. Listen, I think we have our murderers here with me. Should I bring them in now?” Barney asked.

“Yes, Barney. I’ll come over and pick you up.”

“Thank you.”

Barney and Davidson and James waited patiently outside for Andy to pick them up.

“Boy, are you two really going to get it,” Barney told them, holding the handcuffs as rough as he could.

“We didn’t do anything, Officer.”

“Who told you to speak?”

After that, both men were silent. Andy pulled up a few minutes later. Andy did see Barney had two men handcuffed. He stepped out of the driver’s seat.

“What do we have here, Barney?”

“Ange, you have to see what I found in their car,” Barney whispered.

“We’ll talk about it at the office. I hope you didn’t get too excited.”

“Why would I do that?”

Andy didn’t answer his friend. All he did was help Barney load the men in the backseat.

“Just watch it,” Barney whispered loud enough for Andy to hear.

“Barney, leave them alone.”

Barney turned his head back. When Barney turned his head, the two men gave each other a conversation with their eyes. They both kept their fingers crossed that they wouldn’t be pressed for a murder charge. Of course Deputy Fife could be right, they said silently together, but we’ll wait and see. Somehow their pair of eyes showed the sign of laughter. One thing Barney and Andy were about to find out they were the ones who started the holdup crime. They sure did hope to see what Barney would come up with.

After parking the squad car, Andy and Barney stepped out to the backseat. Andy helped Davidson out while Barney did James. Both Davidson and James still said no word. They sure wanted to see if these two officers were smart enough to figure out the rest of the crime, but they kept their fingers crossed in their pockets so neither Barney or Andy would think they were thinking good luck that they were the ones who did not committ the crime.

After Andy and Barney walked into the courthouse and took off the handcuffs and locked Davidson and James in Otis’s cell. Since Otis was not here now, it didn’t seem to matter to either officer.

“All right, you two, tell us what happened the day of the holdup,” Barney said.

“Barney.”

Barney heard Andy, but ignored his friend’s statement.

“Is this your gun?” Barney asked.

Davidson nodded yes.

“Andy, call Aunt Bee and have Gomer come over.”

“Okay.”

The three watched as Andy picked up the phone and called Aunt Bee. Sure enough, she was home.

“Hi, Aunt Bee. Could you do me a favor and send Gomer down at the courthouse?”

After that, he put the phone back in its spot.

“Gomer’s on his way over,” Andy told Barney.

Barney said nothing, but still thought Gomer had a motive with these two crooks.

“We want our lawyer,” James spoke up.

Barney didn’t trust them getting out of the cell.

It sure didn’t take Gomer long enough to arrive at the courthouse.

“Aunt Bee said you wanted me, Andy,” Gomer said.

That’s when Gomer turned to face Davidson and James.

“Gomer, do me a favour and tell us if these were the same men that shot Goober,” Barney said. 

Gomer took a hard long look at Davidson and James.

“I found this weapon in their car,” Barney said, gun in hand.

“If I can remember right, they are the ones who shot my cousin!” Gomer said in shock.

“All right, men, you are both under arrest for first degree murder. Before you recieve your charges, I do have one last question,” Barney said.

Both men in the cell said nothing and waited for Barney’s question.

“I found this penny by his car when I was at the garage earlier today. We found some bloodstains on his car and I found this here on the ground next to the vehicle. Did either one of you steal any money from the victim?” Barney asked.

The two men looked at each other, not semeing to care the car they dented was Gomer’s.

Davidson spoke up first.

“No, we had nothing to do with money,” he said truthfully.

“Still, you two will be under arrest. You will serve your sentence here at Mayberry Jail.”

“Nice work, Barney.”

Barney handed Andy the weapon again and Andy put it away.

“You guys had no smarts by killing a family member. Shame, shame,” Gomer said.

Later that night, Andy brought Opie and Aunt Bee up – to – date on Goober’s murder.

“What happened, Pa?”

“Well, as usual, Gomer proved he was innocent. We found the murderers that killed Goober. They are now in the courthouse. They were charged for first degree murder,” Andy said.

“That didn’t take you long to close this case up,” Aunt Bee said.

Andy didn’t reply. He sure hoped there wouldn’t be another murder for a long time.


End file.
